Published: 1:30am, 28 Jan 2025Updated: 1:38am, 28 Jan 2025
A Hongkonger who was lured to Southeast Asia and held captive at a “scam farm” in Myanmar since October returned to the city on Monday, as the government revealed that a security official would remain in Bangkok to continue efforts to rescue 10 other residents stranded in similar fraud centres in the region.
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The 29-year-old man was taken to the airport’s police station at about 12.30am on Tuesday soon after he returned to Hong Kong on a flight from Bangkok with members of a designated task force from the Security Bureau.
Assistant Secretary for Security Paddy Yuen Pak-kei thanked authorities in mainland China, Thailand and Myanmar for helping with the release of the Hongkonger.
Yuen said that with the Thai authorities’ “humane” help, the time taken to send the victim home was reduced to a few days, allowing him to reunite with his family before Lunar New Year.
He said the man was very excited when they met on Monday.
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“He said he hadn’t used Cantonese for a long time. We [the task force] were deeply moved too because we successfully brought him back to Hong Kong safely,” Yuen added.
“He also revealed he had some plans to celebrate [Lunar New Year] and asked me for some restaurant recommendations.”